When the Detroit Pistons signed Josh Smith to a huge contract last summer, many questioned if he would fit with the makeup of the team with Greg Monroe and the blossoming Andre Drummond already on the roster.
Could Smith play the small forward position? Wouldn’t there be serious floor-spacing issues? Would any of the primary bigs be receptive about coming off the bench? These were some of the questions asked prior to the start of last season, and as the year went on, the answers were steadily answered: no, yes and no.
Simply put, Smith’s first season with the Pistons was an utter disaster – they ended up with a 29-53 record and had no shot at making the playoffs in one of the worst conferences in recent memory. Defensively, he was simply too slow to play the wing position. Offensively, he couldn’t hit the side of a barn for much of the season on his way to a career-worst 41.9 percent shooting from the field, including a dreadful-as-usual 26.4 percent from the 3-point line (he still doesn’t seem to understand that teams leave him open from there for a reason). Yet, he chucked up a whopping 16 shots per game – the second highest field goal attempts of his career. There’s also the fact that Smith shot an anemic 53.2 percent from the stripe. Combine that with Monroe’s 65.7 percent and Drummond’s 41.8 percent, and you have the worst free throw shooting team in the league – by far. That’s a lot of free points left on the table.
So needless to say, there were plenty of unhappy players in the locker room – Monroe included, apparently. Zach Lowe of Grantland reported early on Wednesday that the word around the league about Monroe is this:
Reading between the lines, a sign-and-trade involving Thomas and Josh Smith may be in the works, and multiple sources say Monroe’s camp has made it known Monroe will sign the one-year qualifying offer if Smith remains on the roster. Monroe’s camp denies that, and that kind of empty threat is not atypical from top restricted free agents. It’s really their only form of leverage.
Monroe, however, made it clear that there is no truth to such talks:
These false reports are even more funnier when you’re in the situation and u kno the truth.. I jus laugh
— Greg Monroe (@M10OSE) July 2, 2014
He reiterated that tweet with this one later in the day:
Put “sources say” in front of somethin and ppl believe. The “source” might be a hot pocket pack yall dont even kno…lol
— Greg Monroe (@M10OSE) July 3, 2014
The situation with Monroe is relatively complicated. First, there is the simple fact that a trio of Smith-Monroe-Drummond proved to be a miserable failure. Secondly, he has a number of options to make: sign a one-year qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent, sign an offer sheet with another team, or commit to Detroit for two to three years. Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press detailed these options:
If he signs an offer sheet, despite many reports to the contrary, the Pistons’ only option at that point is to either match or let Monroe walk. A sign-and-trade is no longer possible.
A team could threaten to sign Monroe and then encourage the Pistons to the bargaining table to engineer a sign-and-trade.
And then there’s the nuclear option — Monroe signs the $5.4-million qualifying offer, plays out next season and becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
There is risk to both sides.
Monroe would be leaving at least $45 million on the table and have to spend all season answering questions about yet another contract year. And you can add his obvious interest in leaving to the chorus of questions.
The Pistons (and Monroe) would have to make the best of a situation in which a player is so desperate to leave that he is willing to gamble millions rather than re-up.
[…]
There is a compromise. Monroe and the Pistons could agree on a two- or three-year deal with a player option for the final season.
Under such a scenario, he would give it his best and if things are still trending downward, he can hit the open market at age 26.
The Pistons are in a holding pattern until the matter is resolved. There won’t be any decisions made on Smith’s future until they know Monroe’s address next season.
But the ball is in Monroe’s court.
Whether the story about Monroe’s camp wanting Smith traded is true or not, Monroe should certainly know that the makeup of the current lineup is a major issue. He doesn’t have to say it publicly, but the Smith factor will play into whatever decision he ends up making.
Tweet of the Day: Carmelo Anthony World Tour Continues
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.